The Intuitives(57)

26


The Coming Storm



“You wanna go play downstairs?” Sketch found Rush sitting in their suite after dinner, his feet up on the coffee table, watching the news instead of playing HRT Alpha.

“I think I’m played out for today,” Rush said. “You go ahead if you want.”

“Naw.” Sketch settled onto the couch next to Rush. “What did Ammu say about your pathway?”

Scientists at NASA report that the upcoming Orion test is expected to proceed on schedule, as America prepares to return to space flight. The television reporter smiled for the camera. She was wearing a perfectly normal suit jacket, but Sketch was having trouble seeing it through the puffy ball gown and high, powdered wig he saw on her instead, making her look like some kind of historical French aristocrat.

Rush shrugged. “He said it’s something about predicting behavior patterns. He says that’s why I’m good at the game. I still think I’m just fast, though.” Rush wasn’t about to admit to anyone, not even Sketch, that he had completed the IAB by filling in the blanks randomly.

“You’re fast, for sure,” Sketch agreed, “but you’re not just fast. You’re super talented. If Ammu says you’re good at the behavior thing, then you are.”

“Look, Sketch,” Rush said, “I appreciate the vote of confidence, but I’m not sure I want to be that good at it. The only reason I’m not failing out on purpose is because my dad would sell all my stuff and probably kick me out of the house.”

“He’s not allowed to kick you out until you’re eighteen,” Sketch replied, matter-of-factly. “If he does, they have to give you somewhere else to live.”

Rush just looked at him.

“It’s a Child Protective Services thing,” Sketch offered, by way of explanation.

“It concerns me that you know that,” Rush said, but Sketch just shrugged. “Look, that’s not the point. I just don’t want to be here, OK? No offense to you, man. I really mean that. This place is great for you. It’s like a free ticket to college. But me, I want to be a pro gamer, and if I have to stay here all summer, I’m going to lose my chance. My mom says she’s going to try to talk my dad into letting me come home early. So don’t get too attached to me sticking around.”

Sketch’s face fell, but he didn’t say anything.

“It’s not that I don’t like you, or that I don’t want to hang out with you. You’re cool, man. You really are. But guys only get a few years to be pro gamers before their careers are over. It’s so short. You have no idea. And if you don’t have a pro spot by the time you’re twenty, the odds start stacking against you. I don’t have that much time left to make it, and I have to take the chance while I can. Once my mom gets me out of this, I’m leaving. That’s just how it is.”

Rush got up and walked into his room, closing the door quietly but firmly behind him. Sketch slumped on the couch, but when the next news segment came on, he sat up straight, his eyes glued to the screen.

The president is resting comfortably after a near miss today, when Marine One was forced into an emergency landing just moments after takeoff. Experts say the incident was caused by a sudden burst of wind, combined with an as-yet-undetermined mechanical failure.

But it wasn’t the reporter’s words that had Sketch staring at the screen. It was the news footage behind her. Just before the crash she described, a strange creature appeared in the air next to the helicopter, taking the blurred shape of a man-sized tornado, twisting and writhing in the air.

Watching in both fascination and horror, Sketch saw a face coalesce within the gusting vortex, with two black holes for eyes and a grimacing maw for a mouth. It reached out with ephemeral hands, crackling with the suggestion of lightning, and with preternatural speed it grabbed the helicopter’s rotor, causing the vehicle to spin out of control and come crashing down onto the tarmac below.





27


Instructor Report



“There’s been a development. We need to do this thing now.”

“And by ‘now’ you mean…”

“I mean now, dammit. Tomorrow. Hell, I mean yesterday.”

“Sketch is ready, as is Kaitlyn, I believe, but Daniel still needs more time—”

“I don’t care who’s ready and who’s not ready. It doesn’t matter anymore. The timetable has moved up. End of discussion.”

“Some things, Colonel, can not be rushed, no matter how much we might wish it to be so.”

“I’ve been patient with you so far, Professor, which is a compliment to your particular expertise. But in the end, this is my operation. If you won’t work with me, I’ll find someone who will.”

“I am not unwilling to work with you. I will begin the active experiments, but they might not yet be able to complete the task we are about to set before them. Rush, in particular, is not likely to perform at his full potential without understanding the urgency we face. He has sacrificed what he sees as his highest possible career path to be here. If he does not know the importance of the work, his heart will not be in it, which will be devastating to his abilities.”

“Telling him is not an option. Keep him in the dark and use him, or keep him in the dark and send him home. That’s the choice.”